Schizopolis

Schizopolis (1996)

  • 59% of critics liked it
    (17 reviews)

  • 78% of users liked it
    (4,798 ratings)

After years of making movies in the fringes of the Hollywood system after his debut success sex, lies, and videotape, director Steven Soderbergh made Schizopolis as, in his own words, an artistic "wake-up call to himself." The result is a discombobulated, irreverent, comedic meta-movie, a… More

Unrated,
Directed By
Written By
Steven Soderbergh
Genres
Art House & International, Comedy
In Theaters
Dec 31, 1996 Wide
Criterion Collection

Critic Reviews

  • Janet Maslin, New York Times

    Exasperating as it is, Schizopolis has a deliberateness almost interesting enough to offset its sophomoric streak.

  • Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

    Schizopolis represents a minor act of self-indulgence on the part of the sometimes eccentric Steven Soderbergh but results in major tedium for the viewer.

  • Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

    It's fresh, unexpected and goofy. It's not a smart career move, just a film that its director wanted to make for some crazy reason, and he made it.

  • Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    Though funny and observant at times, it still comes across as a strained juvenile guerilla movie whose bizarre antics never caught fire.

  • Jay Antani, Cinema Writer

    a filmmaking exercise from someone eager to stretch his legs, do something goofy, and experiment, all of which Soderbergh does without losing his audience

Read all 12 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Universal D


    Soderburgh's comic commentary on the vapidness of ordinary American life plays like a Youtube vid made by aspiring actors hoping for that one big break. Only for his fans and those considering imitation.

  • Greg S


    Basically a series of absurd sketches, like a feature film made by a TV comedy troupe, with a thin organizing plot thread involving a man straining to write a big speech for a cultlike figure modeled on L. Ron Hubbard. Full of ideas that are usually more clever than funny---e.g., the… More

  • Graham J


    A truly strange film, it makes no sense and makes total sense all at the same time. Steven Soderbergh, at the top of his game, handles directing, editing, scoring, camerawork and the lead role in this comedic oddity.

  • Spencer S


    A satire towards films that lean towards the pretentious; Schizopolis is a mishmash of a knowing of all things narrator, several different roles all portrayed by Steven Soderbergh, dubbing in three languages, bottomless elderly men, and a start and finish that will have you in peals… More

  • Emil K


    This is a good example of how even the greatest directors loses their touch at times. Soderbergh for sure is a masterclass director, but this unfocused and unfunny mess from him is one of his very worst. Schizopolis is a film that mixes surreal dreams, with everyday life and… More

Read all 11 featured audience ratings

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